In early June, the German television network ARD aired a film called GOD AND THE WORLD: THE PERSECUTED CHILDREN OF GOD. The children referred to are Iraqs largest Christian community: the Assyrians. While any attention to the plight of Iraqi Christians is welcome, I only wish that the film could have aired in the country that is in the best position to help them: the United States.

The film tells the story of the suffering and persecution endured by Assyrian Christians through interviews with Christian refugees - or internally displaced persons, as bureaucrats call them - who escaped the most dangerous areas.

One Assyrian Christian who did not escape was Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul. On February 29, his car was attacked by gunmen who killed his two bodyguards and stuffed the archbishop in the trunk of their car.

While in the trunk, Archbishop Rahho called his church and told them not to pay any ransom, because the money would be used for killing and more evil actions. His body was found in northeast Mosul. An Al-Qaeda member was sentenced to death for his murder.

The archbishops death was only the most publicized attack on Christian clergy in and around Mosul. As the NEW YORK TIMES put it, In the last few years, Mosul has been a difficult place for Christians.

That is an understatement: As Lawrence Kaplan wrote in the NEW REPUBLIC, Sunni, Shia, and Kurd may agree on little else, but all have made sport of brutalizing their Christian neighbors . . . .

Making matters even worse is that American forces did not hesitate to call on Iraqi Christians to serve as interpreters, precisely because they were Christians. Their religion made them easier to relate to. Now, Iraqs Christians are seen by extremists as collaborators and crusaders.

Conditions have gotten so bad in parts of Iraq that some Iraqi Christians now celebrate mass in homes and sometimes, like their ancient Christian ancestors, in crypts instead.

Anyone who knew anything about the history of the region - and its Christian minority - should have seen this coming. That is why Nina Shea of Freedom House, and others, called for special protection for Iraqs Christians. Their advice was, is, and probably will continue to be, ignored by our government and the international community.

The only way this will not happen is if western Christians make their voices heard. To that end, Christian Solidarity International, and others, have launched Save Iraqi Christians.

Their goal is to get our government to defend religious liberty in Iraq and create conditions that allow displaced Christians and other non-Muslim minorities to return to their homeland and live and worship in peace. We ought to be using our powerful leverage with government leaders in Baghdad and Kurdish authorities to develop a secure homeland province for religious minorities.

Because without this, a Christian community that survived invasions by the Persians, Muslims, Mongols, and Ottomans, might not survive the American liberation of Iraq. They certainly will not survive our indifference.

Christians now celebrate mass in homes and sometimes, like their ancient Christian ancestors, in crypts instead.( from the article)

If the Liberal/Marxists have their way in the U.S. we will see that here.

The Liberal/Marxists hate Christians. They would kill us if they could. They can't...( yet).

Closer to home we should be protecting the Christian children in public schools. ( forkinsocket)

Christians should remove their children from the atheistic government schools immediately! The statistics on children remaining faithful in the faith, even when raised in active Christian homes, is abysmal! Even those young adults who do claim to be Christian hold beliefs that are far from anything that would classify them as Christian.

But...More than removing Christian children from the government schools, Christians should be working hard to close down the government schools. Permanently!

Worse are the Christian teachers in the government schools actively assisting in pushing forward policies that are in utter contradiction to Christian belief. This includes school policy and curriculum issues. Also... They **willing** teach their subjects from the godless religious worldview. Surely the students can see that this is complete contraction to the religious worldview of Christians that all is God-centered.

Yes, the students learn a powerful lesson about Christianity from their Christian teachers. The students learn that Christians are hypocrites, stupid, and/or will sell their principles for a paycheck.

3
posted on 06/22/2008 3:22:00 AM PDT
by wintertime
(Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)

This is BBC video program of the treatment of Coptic Egyptians. I think that the treatment the Copt receive from their Muslim neighbors must be about the same. It is a long piece, in several parts, but well worth the viewing. The Copts are prime examples of what happens to Christians in a Muslim world. Very, very scary stuff.

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